“Ha ha. Pants? Or a long shirt?”
With a twitch of a flirty smile, he set his book down and tugged his shirt over his head, and handed it over. “We can share my pajamas.”
“Thanks,” she said sheepishly, then disappeared again to change. The shirt was long enough to cover her butt. She hadn’t realized he was so much taller.
“Need water?” she asked, popping a look around the corner.
He glanced at the bedside table and back to her. “Yeah. Thanks. You know I always forget.”
“I know. I heard you hobbling down the stairs in the middle of the night too many times.”
While she filled water glasses for each of them, he hopped up and turned off the lights, cracked open the tiny window to hear the ocean, and lowered the heat for the night.
They settled onto their separate sides of the bed, and Trace handed his water glass over. He smoothly took it, sipped, then set it on his bedside table. He slid his legs under the blankets and leaned back against the headboard with his book.
Trace clicked off her bedside lamp and curled on her side.
Cole clicked off his light and set his book down. He slid lower into the bed and laid on his back.
Encased in darkness, the sound of the ocean should have lulled her to sleep.
She flopped to her other side, facing away from Cole.
He laughed under his breath.
“What?” she asked.
“Is this the part where we’re so overcome with lust that we start magically making out? I mean, you do look hot in my shirt.”
She snorted a laugh and flopped to her back. “Let’s tell Pippa that’s what happened.” Trace sealed her eyes shut against the darkness. Cold with the window open, she pulled the blankets to her chin. A nice, sexy space heater, just a foot away. She hugged him all the time. So what if they were horizontal this time?
Not a hint of sleepiness in his voice, he asked, “Are you cold? I can close the window.”
“No, I like the sound of the ocean.”
“I can turn up the heat.”
“No that’s okay, or I’ll just be too warm later.”
“K,” he said. “Goodnight.”
“Sleep tight.”
Maintaining a wide distance between them, glued to the edge of the bed, she did not sneak her foot across to warm against his. She did not feel across the gap to check how far away he was.
She did, however, roll to her side to face him. In the dim ambient light, his expression was soft, almost peaceful. She did close her eyes and listen to the steady sound of his breathing, slowing, gradually, his chest rising and falling.
Most of all, she didn’t let herself imagine how this could go. Maybe she should have a fling. With someone safe, to get Cole out of her imagination.
Someone like that adorable science teacher. Nerdy. Sweet. A little shy. Clearly a great sense of humor, messing around with his brothers. Great laugh.
Ugh. Even trying to substitute him in when she closed her eyes, it didn’t work. Cole was right there.
For now. One of these days, he’d be back to full fighting strength, and the restlessness would kick in. His old job might call and offer him a raise, or maybe he’d find something that challenged him even more.
The ocean never rested. Ebb and flow. Surge, crash, retreat. Through the narrow window, it pushed its cold breath into the room.
Sleep finally dragged her under, the rain growing heavy and pounding against the windows, until her dreams flowed as fiercely as the wind and water of the coast. Hours into the night, and the cold sharpened. Not nearly conscious enough to get up and close the window or turn up the heat, she was stuck between sleep and awake, uncomfortable and mostly unconscious and she shivered with incoherent indecision.
